1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a textile identification product and more particularly to a dye impermeable, distortion resistant textile identification product and the method of making the same.
2. Description of Prior Art
Textile identification products are well-known for their use as emblems, patches, labels for laundry identification, computerized label tapes and the like. In this regard they are often sewn or heat sealed onto articles of wearing apparel or other fabric material of a general nature.
Current products in this field can withstand numerous heavy duty industrial washing and/or dry cleaning cycles without shrinking or puckering, when either heat sealed or sewn onto garments. Examples of such products are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,657,060 and 3,816,211.
U S. Pat. No. 3,657,060 describes an embroidered emblem comprising a fabric base bonded to a layer of thermoplastic adhesive material, wherein the fabric base contains the embroidered design. U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,211 describes a method for preparing the embroidered emblem disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,060, comprising the steps of applying heat and pressure to the thermoplastic material while it is in contact with the fabric base and then permitting the emblem to cool while still under pressure. In these patents, the preferred thermoplastic adhesive is a polyurethane adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,010 discloses a method of making articles of aetzed embroideries on a thermoplastic backing to form a composite in which the thermoplastic backing is melt bonded to the embroideries. In a preferred embodiment, the articles of aetzed embroidery are prepared with an adhesive coating on one side, such that the articles are mounted by the adhesive coatings on a carrier strip for storage and ready removal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,269,885 and 4,423,106 both disclose a laminated material formed of a layer of polyurethane or polyether and a layer of extruded polyester. This laminated material may then be applied to a garment or other material by applying sufficient heat and pressure so that the polyester layer becomes adhesively bonded to the garment or other material.
Despite advances in the industry, there is still a problem of the transference of dyestuffs to the garments from the emblem yarns and fabrics used to make the patches, emblems, etc., which is usually noticed when the identification products are removed from the garments. When the emblem is adhered to the garment by application of heat and pressure, the dyestuffs used to color the fabric of the emblem and/or the yarn of the embroidery portion of the emblem bleeds through even the thermoplastic adhesive backing onto the garment. Dry cleaning and/or laundering worsens the bleed through problem.
By using a relatively thick coating (at least about 8 mils) of the polyurethane thermoplastic adhesive material of the type referred to above in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,657,060 and 3,816,211, a textile identification product acquires significant dye impermeability. However, the dye impermeable thermoplastic material of this invention used between the fabric layer and the thermoplastic adhesive layer is substantially less expensive than the polyurethane thermoplastic adhesive material. Additionally, less of the dye impermeable material of the present invention is required to provide dye impermeability to the product. As a result, the use of the dye impermeable thermoplastic material, along with a thinner coating of the thermoplastic adhesive material is a more cost-effective means of providing dye impermeability to the product, along with excellent adhesive properties, as compared to the use of a thick layer of the polyurethane adhesive material. Further, the presently preferred dye impermeable layer of the present invention also provides resistance to deformation of the textile identification product in subsequent printing or stitching operations.
Moreover, current manufacturing techniques cause stretching or deformation of emblems during processes such as screen printing or stitching operations. This stretching or deformation results in significant distortion of the printed or stitched design. The resulting product may then have to be discarded. In addition, computerized label tapes often undergo misalignment of printer sprocket holes when fed as a web to a computerized label printer. Such processing difficulties could be avoided by incorporating a layer of distortion resistant material into the textile identification product, in accordance with the present invention.